Audience
This article is intended for people that work in marketing, sales, event planning and/or communications that are responsible for coordinating or handling trade show exhibitions.
Introduction
In a previous post, I wrote an article about how we captured leads at the annual PPAI EXPO trade show and how we landed those directly into NetSuite. I’ve seen the great value that our own team realized using the application for lead capture. I’ve also witnessed the tremendous success achieved by several of our clients that exhibit at this same show. After our most recent trade show, I discovered that there is a much larger audience of companies that could benefit by using eXtendMobile: any organization that runs NetSuite and exhibits at a trade show where Maritz provides the lead retrieval.
As it turns out, there are numerous trade shows, both large & small, where Maritz provides lead capture. A few of these trade shows include:
- CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) – the world’s most influential annual tech trade show
- CONEXPO-CON/AGG – North America’s largest construction trade show
- National Retail Foundation’s BIG SHOW – the world’s leading retail event organized by the world’s largest retail trade association
- NAB Show – hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters
- NRA Show – hosted by the National Restaurant Association
For our numerous customers within the promotional products industry, Maritz is also now the provider of lead capture for tradeshows hosted by both ASI & PPAI.
Why do I need eXtendMobile if Maritz already provides me with tools?
While Maritz offers SWAP (an array of lead capture tools), each of these offerings has a cost associated with it. Unfortunately, these costs increase based on the number of people that will be working at your trade show booth. There are three lead capture options that Maritz provides for rent or purchase at each trade show event:
- a scanning application that is installed on your own device – with a cost for each device.
- a handheld device or tablet badge scanner that is rented – with a cost for each device.
- a developer kit API that could be utilized by numerous devices/persons.
The eXtendMobile application makes use of the developer kit API and seamlessly connects their lead capture API to your NetSuite account. The advantage of the API is that it handles an unlimited number of users. If you need more than a handful of devices for scanning, it makes much more sense to purchase the developer kit and leverage it with the eXtendMobile SuiteApp.
Case-in-point: At the most recent PPAI EXPO in January, one of our clients purchased the Maritz API and equipped their employees with a dozen android tablets with the eXtendMobile application installed. In just two-and-a-half days, they captured over 1500 leads and landed them all directly into NetSuite.
Taking advantage of lead data captured in real-time
Not only is this approach a more cost-effective way to capture those leads, but the leads captured via eXtendMobile are also immediately available within NetSuite upon scanning a visitor’s badge. Furthermore, you can also augment the lead data that is captured by the application. Within the eXtendMobile user interface, you can enable your users to capture your own custom fields, qualification notes and/or details along with the lead data from the badge scan.
Once that lead has been created in the NetSuite ERP platform, you can also enable additional follow-up actions such as:
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Creating an event-based workflow that immediately triggers an automated ‘thank you’ email for visiting the booth.
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Allowing your employees at the booth to be able to create opportunities, orders for samples and/or even live orders for those captured leads right from the tradeshow floor.
How does the eXtendMobile SuiteApp integrate with Maritz?
When the eXtendMobile SuiteApp is installed into your NetSuite account, there is a configuration section dedicated exclusively for connecting to the Maritz SWAP API. Once you have purchased the developer’s kit from Maritz, they will provide you with the API key and activation code required to connect the eXtendMobile SuiteApp to the Maritz host.
Once the four Maritz configuration fields have been populated with the necessary details provided by the Maritz API you purchased, your team will be locked, loaded, and ready to capture leads at the show. In the days leading up to the show, you can even test drive your scans with sample QR codes provided by Maritz to ensure that any custom fields and/or workflows are properly captured and triggered along with the test badge scans.
Looking to elevate the value of your trade show experience?
eXtendMobile isn’t just another app—it’s a flexible tool enabling exhibitors to better make use of lead data captured at trade shows. By seamlessly integrating with NetSuite and offering unparalleled flexibility, eXtendMobile ensures that your team can capture leads, qualify prospects, and act in real time. As the needs of trade show exhibitors evolve, eXtendMobile will continue to be the most efficient and effective solution for seamless lead capture and management.
eXtendMobile: more than just a lead capture application
eXtendMobile is far more than just a trade show lead scanner. It’s an intuitive, versatile platform that enables you to create custom mobile applications by seamlessly integrating NetSuite’s powerful functions and data. Whether it’s for inventory management, time tracking, order processing, or any other operational need, eXtendMobile empowers your team to quickly build and deploy tailored solutions. The simple drag-and-drop interface and flawless NetSuite integration bring the power of NetSuite directly to your mobile device, driving efficiency and simplifying workflows across your entire organization, no matter what the task.
Ready to optimize your trade show process with eXtendMobile? Contact us & schedule a demo today!